Distant relationships

Several studies made over the past two centuries assert that the Dravidian languages had some kind of genetic relationship with the Ural-Altaic languages of northern Europe. Attempts have been made to relate Dravidian with Elamite, Sumerian, Basque, the Sub-Saharan languages of Africa, Korean, and Japanese.

Because the traditional methods of comparative linguistics remain the standard for proof of genetic relationship, most of these claims have remained unproved. However, the comparative method fails when the data are not extensive enough to establish systematic correspondences among the sound systems and grammars of languages with a reasonable frequency. This problem becomes especially acute when the time gap spans millennia and a number of sister languages become extinct, events that obscure possible intermediate links in reconstruction. For instance, one could not conceive of any genetic relationship between Tamil-Malayalam-Kannada uppu ‘salt’ and Kui sāru ‘salt,’ if the link forms preserved by Parji-Kolami cup, Gondi sovar (derived from Proto-South-Central Dravidian *cow-ar, which came from Proto-Dravidian *cuw-ar/*cup-ar), and Konda sōru were not available (see lines 8a and 8b of the etymology table). Linguists must develop a new methodology for establishing distant relationships between language families. According to the controversial Nostratic hypothesis, for instance, not only Indo-European and Dravidian but also Uralic, Afro-Asiatic, Altaic, and Kartvelian were alleged to have sprung from a common parent.

Some studies claim Proto-Dravidian as the language of the Indus or Harappan civilization (approximately 2500–1300 bce). More than 3,000 soapstone seals have been discovered with inscriptions written from right to left and left to right. The writing system was partly pictographic and partly syllabic, with more than 400 recurring signs. Computer studies of the concordances of these inscriptions indicate that the language was a suffixing and a non-prefixing one. However, this observation is the only basis for its possibly being a Dravidian language; other evidence indicates that the language was Indo-European.

Dravidian cognates from representative languages

A list of Dravidian cognates from representative languages is provided in the table.

Dravidian cognates from representative languages

ety. no.

DED1

gloss

Tamil

Kannada

Tulu

Telugu

Gondi

Kui

1

752

’village’

ūr

ūr

ūru

ūru

—

—

2

1159a

’eye’

kaṇ

kaṇ

kaṇṇï

kan(n)u

kan, kaṛ

kanu

3

1479

’leg’

kālu

kālu

kārï

kālu

kāl

kāḍu

4

3103

’head’

talai

tale

tarè

tala

talā

tlau

5

1977a

’ear’

cevi

kiwi

kebi

cewi

kewi

—

6

2023

’hand’

kai

kay, key

kai

cēyi

kai

kaju

7

4096

’milk’

pāl

pāl, hāl

pērï

pālu

pāl

pāḍu

8a

2674a

’salt’

uppu

uppu

uppu

uppu

—

—

8b

2674b

’salty’

uvar

ogar

ubarï

ogaru

sovar, hovar, ovar

sāru

9

5159

’river,’ ’water’

yāṟu/āṟu

—

ārï

ēṟu

ēr

ēju

10

4111a

’tree’

maram, maran

mara

mara

mrānu, mrāku

maṛā, māṛa

mrānu

11

183

’mother,’ ’woman’

ammā

am(m)a

amma

am(m)a

ammal

ama

12

4149

’child,’ ’girl’

piḷḷai

piḷḷe

piḷḷè

pilla

pil(l)a

—

13

4616

’daughter,’ ’woman’

makaḷ

magaḷ

magaḷï

maguwa

miyāṛ

—

14

990d

’one’

onṟu

ondu

oñji

oṇḍu

uṇḍī, undī

—

15

480

’two’ (n.) ’dual,’ ’double’ (adj.)

iraṇṭu īr/ir-u

eraḍu ir-V

raḍḍï ir-

reṇḍu īr/iru

raṇḍ ir-

rīṇḍe rī-/ri-

16

5052

’three’ (n.) ’triple’ (adj.)

mūnṟu mū-/ muC-2

mūṟu mū-

mūji mū-/ muC-

mūṇḍu mū-/ muC-

mūnḍ —

mūnji mū-/ mu-

17

5160

’I’ (nom.) ’I’ (oblique)

yān/nān en(n)-

ān/nān en-/nan-

yānu en-/ ena-

ēnu/nēnu nan-/nā

anā/nanā nā

ānu/nānu nā

18

3684

’thou’ (nom.) ’thou’ (obl.)

nī nin-

nīn(u) ninn-

ī nin-

nīwu nin-/nī -

nimmā nī

īn nī

19

1

’he,’ ’that’ ’man’ (nom.)

avan

avan

āye

wāḍu

ōr

aanju

20

1957

’to do’

cey-

key-, gey-

gei-

cēy-/cey-

kī-

ki-

21

4778

’to be,’ ’to live’ ’house’

mannu- manai

— mane

— manè

man- maniki

man-

man-

22

5270

’to come’

var-, vā-

bar-, bā-

bar-

wacc, rā-

wāy-, waṛ-

vā-

23

3263

’to eat’

tin- (tin-ṟ-)

tin- (tin-d-)

tin-

tin- (tiṇ -ṭ-)

tind (titt-)

tin- (tis-)

24

5516

’to hear,’ ’to ask’

vin-ā

—

—

win (wiṇ ṭ-)

ven- (vett-)

ven- (ves-)

25

2426

’to die’

cā- (cett-)

sāy- (satt-)

sai-

cacc-, ca-, cā-

sāy- (sāt-)

sā- (sāt-)

ety. no.

DED

gloss

Parji

Kolami

Kurukh

Brahui

Proto-Dravidian3

1

752

’village’

—

ūr

—

urā

*ūr

2

1159a

’eye’

kan

kan

xann

xan

*kaṇ

3

1479

’leg’

kēl

kāl

—

ʔtrikkal

*kāl

4

3103

’head’

tel

tal

—

—

*tal-ay

5

1977a

’ear’

ke-kol

kev

xeb(dā)

—

*kew-i

6

2023

’hand’

key

kī

xekkhā

—

*kay

7

4096

’milk’

pēl

pāl

—

pālh

*pāl

8a

2674a

’salt’

cup

sup

—

—

*cup(p)

8b

2674b

’salty’

—

—

—

—

*cup+ar [*cuw-ar]

9

5159

’river,’ ’water’

—

—

—

—

*yāṯu

10

4111a

’tree’

meri

māk

mann

—

*mar-am/-an

11

183

’mother,’ ’woman’

—

—

—

ammā

*amm-a

12

4149

’child,’ ’girl’

ʔ

pilla

pello

pillōtā

*piḷḷ-ay

13

4616

’daughter,’ ’woman’

māl

—

—

—

*mak-V-

14

990d

’one’

—

—

ōnd

asiṭ

*on-ṯu

15

480

’two’ (n.) ’dual,’ ’double’ (adj.)

irḍu ir-

indiṅ ir-

ēṇḍ ir-

iraṭ ir-

*ir-a-ṇ ṭu * īr/*ir-V-

16

5052

’three’ (n.) ’triple’ (adj.)

mū~nduk mū/muy

mūndiṅ muy

mūnd ʔnu-

musiṭ musi

*muH-nṯu *muH-

17

5160

’I’ (nom.) ’I’ (oblique)

ān an-

ān an-

ēn eṅg

ī ʔkan-

*yān/*ñān *yan-/*ñan-

18

3684

’thou’ (nom.) ’thou’ (obl.)

īn in-

— in-

nīn niṅg

nī nē-/n-

*nīn *nin-/*nī

19

1

’he,’ ’that’ ’man’ (nom.)

ōd/ōḍ

am/amd

ās

—

aw-anṯu

20

1957

’to do’

ʔkak-

key

—

kē-, kan-

*key

21

4778

’to be,’ ’to live,’ ’house’

man-

men-

man-

mann-

*man

22

5270

’to come’

ver (veñ-)

vā-, var-

bar-

bar-, ba-, bann-

*waH-, *waH-r-

23

3263

’to eat’

tin- (tin-d-)

tin- (tin-d-)

tind-

—

*tin- (*tin-ṯ-/-ṯṯ-)

24

5516

’to hear,’ ’to ask’

vin- (vint-)

ven- (vend-)

men- (menj-)

bin- (bing-)

*win- (*win-ṯ-/-ṯṯ-)

25

2426

’to die’

cay(cañ-)

—

khēʔe

(kecc-)

kah-

(kask-, kas)

*caH-/*cāH- >*cay/*cāy-

1Dravidian Etymological Dictionary.2C indicates a consonant, V indicates a vowel, and H indicates a laryngeal. Parentheses following verbs contain the past stem, while the symbol > indicates that the preceding item was replaced by the item that follows.3An asterisk * indicates that a preceding word is unattested but has been deduced from attested derivatives.

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